693.0031 Tibet/7–1948
Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Chinese Affairs (Sprouse)
Mr. Tsui telephoned this afternoon to inform me that the Tibetan Trade Mission had arrived and was staying at the Washington Hotel, where reservations had been made by the American Express Company. He said that the Chinese Embassy had two representatives at the station to meet the Mission and that Mr. Ahern of the Commerce Department had also met the Mission.
Mr. Tsui said that Ambassador Koo had asked him to request that the Commerce Department be informed of the attitude of the Chinese Government toward the Mission as set forth in the aide-mémoire which the Ambassador had left with the Secretary of State. I informed Mr. Tsui that Mr. Butterworth and I had discussed this matter with representatives of the Department of Commerce and had described to them the Chinese views on this subject.
Mr. Tsui said that he had also been instructed by the Ambassador to ask whether the Department of Commerce would be good enough to have Chinese Embassy representatives present in the event that any “arrangements” were made with the Mission. I told Mr. Tsui that the Department of Commerce had informed us that it would consider the Tibetan Trade Mission as business men on a purely commercial basis and that it hardly seemed necessary in some cases for the Chinese to have a representative present on every occasion that the Commerce Department talked with the members of the Mission. Mr. Tsui said [Page 764] that the Chinese did not expect to have representatives present on tours of factories and similar occasions but that the Chinese did wish to be present in the event of the conclusion of any kind of “arrangements”. I told Mr. Tsui that I would communicate this to the Department of Commerce.